Lady Mavericks buck Lady ’Cats second upset bid

The Lady Wildcats nearly pulled off their second comeback against Anderson County this year but the Lady Mavs pulled away in overtime 55-44.

Robert Holder

The Lady Wildcats nearly pulled off their second comeback against Anderson County this year but the Lady Mavs pulled away in overtime 55-44.

Oak Ridge senior guard Whitney Mitchell hit a running 3-pointer that banked off the backboard and in to close out the third quarter and to pull within eight of the lead. That started the run for the Lady ’Cats, who came from down 20 points in the first District 3-AAA game of the year to defeat ACHS.

“Anytime you can hit a big shot or make a big play like that, it’s a momentum swing, and we rallied around that,” ORHS coach Kerra Jackson said.

Savanna Johnson cut the lead to one early and back to two late with a pair of huge 3-pointers for Oak Ridge. A steal by Johnson, 20 seconds after her second made trey, that she pushed ahead to an open Kendra Holmes for a basket, tied the game at 42 inside a minute to play.

After a foul, the Lady Wildcats forced another turnover in their press defense giving them the ball with 42.5 seconds left. The Lady Mavs defense came up big as Mitchell put up a shot that was deflected and the two teams went into overtime.

From there it was all Anderson County (14-5, 8-1 in 3-AAA). The Lady Mavericks made just one field goal in the 4 minute period but went 10 of 12 at the free-throw line while holding the Lady ’Cats to just two made free throws.

“We gave ourselves a chance to win and that’s all you can ask for,” coach Jackson said. “We missed too many shots in overtime and that was the difference in the game.”

Oak Ridge (10-8, 7-3) found itself behind for the exact same reason missing shots early against the ACHS zone packed into the lane to stop the dribble drives of Mitchell and Holmes.

The Lady Mavs were also able to break the press early by getting the ball out on transition before Oak Ridge was set up.

Kendra Holmes led ORHS with 18 points. Mitchell had 14. Johnson’s only points came from her two 3-pointers but her overall play was pointed out by her coach.

“She really helped us out tonight,” Jackson said. “Her shot has been on recently. That was exactly what we needed.”

Sharp shooting Cayla Oglesby had 19 for Anderson County. Oglesby hit three 3-pointers on the night. Savanna Cummings had 17 and Kaitlyn Cupples had 11.

The Mavericks were 16 of 20 from the line for the game. Oak Ridge was 13 of 17.

The win was the closest District 3-AAA win for the Anderson County girls since their loss to Oak Ridge. In the last two weeks, the Lady Mavericks have defeated Powell, Clinton and Hardin Valley each by more than 15 points.

The Lady Wildcats’ 44 points were the most ACHS has given up since Oliver Springs defeated them 46-41 Dec. 17 at OSHS.

“They are by far the best team in our district,” Jackson said. “We pretty much matched them tonight.